


i cant handle change

by GalekhXigisi



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Autistic Donatello (TMNT), Disability, Donatello and Leonardo (TMNT) are Twins, F/M, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Good Dad Baron Draxum (TMNT), Illnesses, M/M, Major Character Injury, Medical Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Michelangelo (TMNT) Has ADHD, Past Rape/Non-con, Physical Disability, Sickfic, Soft Michelangelo (TMNT), Trans Donatello (TMNT), idk baby got TRAUMA, yeah this is dark now apparently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:01:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26354626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalekhXigisi/pseuds/GalekhXigisi
Summary: After Donatello gets sick, Draxum decides that maybe he and his two sons should move to somewhere with a bit more access to health and medical professionals. Little did he know, he would run into his ex within that and his sons would befriend their brothers while becoming close to the wild-child of a girl next door.(Aka dad Draxum and past Draxum/Splinter where Draxum adopts Mikey and Donnie)
Relationships: Baron Draxum/Splinter (TMNT), Lou Jitsu/Big Mama
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to clarify that Donnie is trans (ftm), it just isn't big to the story so it probably won't be much more than mentioned in passing for a bit. 
> 
> Also, Mikey and Donnie both KNOW they have brothers, they've just never met them. Raph and Leo both think they have a brother and sister but, again, they've never met and don't know each others' names.

If Baron were ever going to be honest about the situation that so sharply invaded him years ago, he would have admitted that he had never expected the lawyers he hired to put up such a fight to get custody of any of the four children. A hefty amount of the lawyers he had tried had bluntly turned him down to even begin with, a harsh start that made things rough, given that Yoshi was far from willing to part from his children whatsoever and the same could be said about Baron, who helped raise the young children, despite none of them being biologically his and all children from affairs during his marriage with the man he now called his ex. It was already discouraging with the rumors that had flooded around, what with Yoshi being the famous Lou Jitsu and Baron Draxum being known for his past with the man, albeit his name was shielded by a curtain of lies, all the same. 

However, he stood forth now, watching as Donnie and Mikey laughed at whatever was on the television. 

Donnie’s only seven and he’s already so knowledgable, full of fun facts that Baron can barely keep up with. He’s there with Mikey, leaning against his little brother and smiling widely at the screen. He knows how to do Mikey’s hair better than their father does, managing to swindle the younger boy into sitting still long enough to do it. The oldest of the family wasn’t able to contain his surprise when he had woken up on a Monday morning to get his boys up for school and found Donnie sitting behind the other, tongue just barely jutted out from between slightly parted lips, hyper fixated on the task while Mikey babbled on about whatever it was that was on his mind, his gestures wide and excitement clear but head staying still as Donnie held onto the coils of hair. 

And Mikey’s so happy, the happiest child Baron thinks he has ever seen in his whole life. The boy is so full of energy, diagnosed with ADHD young, just like Donnie had been with autism. Despite their disabilities, it was a plus that meant the two understood each other far better than anyone else could have. At the current moment, he’s moving to wrap his arms around his older brother, who, surprisingly, doesn’t push him away. Instead, he settles down, still smiling widely, though his attention is focused on the television, an old Jupiter Jim movie playing on it. THey’ve seen the movie a million times, sure, but the boys are still full of excitement, Donnie’s hands flapping while Mikey pats at his thigh. 

They’re two peas in a pod, a perfect match for siblings. Donnie protects his brother without a care for himself and Mikey’s always there to cheer him up when needed. It doesn’t matter that they’re six months apart, no, they still act like they were twins. 

They aren’t twins, no, Donnie and Leo are. They aren’t identical, but if anyone were to see the two together once more, they would be shocked by how similar the two were. The patches of skin, Donnie’s tones much lighter than Leo’s but both having bits over their eyes. Donnie’s right eye red with the albino genes his mother had carried in her there and the other the same soft blue that Mikey has. It was a genetic mutation on Yoshi’s side that had been rare, apparently, but the two brothers shared. His long, black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail after hours of fiddling with it before getting angry about it and reluctantly straightening it with Mikey’s help. The two had minimal burns from the straightener, thankfully, most of which focused around Donnie’s hands. The boy looked near identical to Leo when the two straightened their hair, even with the white streaks in Donnie’s hair. Leo had dyed his hair in red and blue streaks, according to the last time Baron had talked to his ex-husband. 

Mikey looks a lot like Raph, is Baron were going to be honest. His hair is shorter, caded in the back. It’s currently put up by Donnie, pinned with two different sticks that Baron has no idea how he sharpened nor when he even got them, but he hopes for his sake that the kid is willing to take him peacefully. Mikey’s short and thin, unlike Raph, who is tall and stout, but the two have the same square features, soft despite everything else. They’ve always been this way, always willing to wear their hearts on their sleeves. The boy dressed in orange more often than not, differing from Donnie’s purple aesthetic and blending with Raph’s (forgotten) red. They would have gotten along, Baron thinks, if they had actually gotten to know each other. 

And it all seems fine, the little scene right there. It’s fine as can be. Donnie’s a bit stiff, but that was nothing new. He was still getting used to physical contact, something that he flinched away from more often than not. He rarely talks outside of gentle statements or infodumps. Mikey’s as relaxed as he can possibly be. They’re all content on the farm Baron had bought for the sake of getting away from everything, giving his children constant access to all the land they could possibly need, animals, and a small community that’s helped raise them. They’re safe and healthy. 

Until they aren’t. 

Donnie’s immune system was never the best. Never, not once, had it been well. He was sick at least twice a month and his body had internal scars from so many infections. Small ones, sure, but they were still scars, nonetheless. His vocal cords were damaged from his sickness and he’d had surgery more than a few times when he was younger to keep him alive. But Donnie starts coughing and his coughing doesn’t stop. It wasn’t new, no, Donnie had just gotten out of the hospital with a bad respiratory infection. However, he has to get up and stumble to the garbage can. Instead of coughing out mucus, blood coats the side and his coughing only continues on. 

Things can get turned on their head so quickly, Baron supposes as he rushes to Donnie’s side and does his best to calm Mikey down from his horrified screaming. 


	2. That timeskip with no context for some reason

The twelve-year-old was usually silent. It wasn’t something that was new, after all, given the way that he had only just been beginning to talk when, well,  _ everything _ happened. He runs a hand through the cats’ fur, eyes downcast on the long-haired beast. The cat only purrs, leaning into his touch without much else to go off of. 

“It’s gonna be so cool,” Mikey says with a wide smile, fists balled as they bob up and down with his ungodly excitement that just never seems to end. He was so excited about the little family moving, so easily able to ignore the reason behind it and everything it stood for. Donnie wasn’t able to discard everything so well, still gently glaring at the cat, who has no reaction to his irritation. The little beast was already used to his owners’ hostility when it came to change, despite only being six months old. 

“It shall be,” Baron says with a slight smile on his lips. Unlike his youngest son, he can’t just ignore what’s going on, what’s been happening for years now. In fact, it silently presses down on him, the constant reminder of his son hooked up to so many machines still fresh in his mind despite it having happened years ago. He was moving to New York at the insistence of his old lawyers, Huginn and Munnin having been the ones to win the case that resulted in these lovely two boys within his custody. New York meant a hefty amount of new possibilities and options, alternatives for if it ever… came back. 

The man doesn’t want to think about that, though, peering back at Donnie. He’s a bit pale. He had a dog before Shelldon, a dog who passed away just a few months ago and left salt in the wound when Mikey had come home with a kitten the next day, presenting a sick Shelldon to the older two with tears in his eyes. Donnie had been against the idea whole-heartedly, storming off to his room with angry tears streaming down his face at the idea of a new pet after the last one’s death, but Shelldon has somehow become  _ Donnie’s _ cat and Donnie hates parting with the cat, hence why he’s in his lap now. 

Donnie’s brows are still furrowed. The boy’s drawn them on for years, annoyed by the patches of white on one brow and not the other since he was four and having kept up drawing them on ever since, albeit he is now much better at makeup than the adult have ever thought would happen. More often than not, he finds Mikey in Donnie’s room, a canvas for the older boy who usually does nothing more than draw his brows and occasionally paint his nails. Speaking of which, his nail blend with the slick fur, long strands of black fur getting smoothed down with his repetitive movement. He doesn’t even have on the noise-canceling headphones, for once, which was something that was rare, given his natural disliking for cars. He would typically wear earbuds or the headphones, looking to minimize the noises and whatever came with. They sit in the middle, between the two in the back seat of the car. 

“What’d you think, Dee,” Mikey asks, leaning over but not touching the older of the two. 

“This is stupid,” he says, his tone as blunt as usual. His fingers slightly curl against fur, not at all pulling as he replies. He isn’t looking to hurt Shelldon, terrified of doing such. 

“But-” 

“New York is too loud and it has too many people. It’s going to be  _ icky.” _

Baron tentatively voices a warning, _ “Donnie.” _

The boy snaps his mouth shut, still stewing in his anger. He hadn’t been that vocal about his anger, mostly passive-aggressive with it, but both of his family members picked up on it so easily. They’ve known his for so long, after all. It’s the subtle thing like the way he bites down on nothing or he subconsciously brings a hand up to pull at his hair before jerking back down at realizing what he’s even doing, to begin with. There were thick scars along his palms that had been reopened within his anger, hands balled so tightly, nails leaving no remorse within their wake. He had long since stopped being kind to his body, his hands just another thing destroyed along the way. 

Donnie doesn’t give him a reply, jaw clenching and silence overtaking him once more. His fingers flatten, flexing outwards as he holds his breath. It isn’t the best coping mechanism, but it’s one that means Donnie isn’t going to start yelling or have a meltdown, so his father is willing to let it slide for the time being. 

“This is going to help, Donnie,” the oldest begins in a soft tone, though his voice is stern. He knows his son is aware of this, too. Donnie was a lot of things, but stupid certainly wasn’t an adjective Baron would even  _ consider. _ “A fresh start with new places and new opportunities.” 

“And new doctors,” Donnie retorts with a gentle scoff, the noise coming out as far more of a huff than anything else. He slightly slumps in his seat, anger deflating with a gentle frown, his expression pained. He doesn’t have a retort after, moving to put in the earbuds without another attempt at listening to the two, nor trying to start up a conversation. Baron can hear the faint baseline of the song he’s listening to despite both earbuds in. He knows better than to snap at him to turn it down when he’s upset. 

“Did you talk to him about it,” Mikey asks in a whisper, frowning at the front seat’s back. 

“Which It?” 

“Therapy,” Mikey says after a hesitant moment. His eyes flash towards his brother, who stares at the roof of the car with a somber expression, not willing to voice his sadness. 

Mikey only knew about it because he’d overheard Baron on the phone with Munnin, which had resulted in Mikey’s never-ending worry after realizing Donnie had stopped going to therapy and hadn’t gone back since the last time, something that Mikey didn’t know too much about but had never been willing to press on about. 

“He isn’t ready just yet, Mikey,” Baron acknowledges in a soft tone. Mikey only makes a soft noise of acknowledgment. “It’s going to take him a bit to heal after all that’s happened.” 

The eleven-year-old mumbles, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: I'm not going to have any past r//pey undertones or anything like that in this, just some sickness and moving for more medical options   
> Me, now staring down the mental storyline I've created for this while writing the second chapter, realizing that I'm about to pack Donnie and Mikey with a lot of trauma and Donnie with hella mistrust against general adults, medical professionals especially: Okay

**Author's Note:**

> I hate this fics' beginning. 
> 
> Please leave likes and comments! If you particularly liked my fic, here's my Discord server!  
> https://discord.gg/eGkwayy


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